After giving up a whopping nine goals on home ice back on Thursday night, the Montreal Canadiens needed a bounce-back effort when visiting the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. While they fell short on the scoreboard, their effort was unquestionable, they played a very tight game against a top NHL team, and they didn’t show an ounce of quit when they fell down a few goals. Despite the loss, it was an exponential improvement from their last outing, and hopefully a sign of things to come.
And in another sign of things to come, Lane Hutson was finally able to find his first NHL goal in the first period.
LANE HUTSON FIRST NHL GOAL ALERT!
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) December 14, 2024 at 8:27 PM
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These plays for Hutson have been ending with the echoing ping of a post or crossbar more often than a faceoff at centre ice. Funnily enough, he hit a post later in the game as well, but not on this shot. He snuck it just inside the far post, notching what most believe is simply the first of many for him. He has long been deserving of this moment, and that boost of confidence might convince him to start keeping more looks for himself moving forward.
One of the biggest frustrations of late has been the amount of chances he generates that die on the sticks of his teammates. Hutson is never going to be known for having a screamer of a shot, but if some increased shooting confidence leads to him keeping some looks for himself, that might not be such a bad thing. He scored plenty in the NCAA without having an elite shot, so there is no reason why he can’t put some more in on his own in the NHL with some more volume on goal.
It wasn’t just a one-goal wonder from Hutson, either, as he was arguably the best player on either side of this game. The Canadiens held a stellar 72.64% share of expected goals with him on the ice at even-strength, and without Connor Hellebuyck’s play in net, he’d have at least gotten a few more points at even strength, if not on the power play. It was close to, if not the best game we’ve seen from Hutson to date, and it came at a time when the team sorely needed a spark.
Hutson is one of this team’s most intriguing, and important young players. The fact that he had one of his best games as they did a complete 180 from their last contest is no coincidence, he’s becoming the type of player that can help lead this team.
And at his age, he’s just scratching the surface of what he can accomplish in this league. Habs fans have every reason to be excited about Lane Hutson.
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